Monday, March 8, 2010

One of the most important dieting tips for a woman...

Protein. Protein. Protein. Protein.

I can't say it enough. The best thing a woman can have while dieting and exercise is protein. It's the backbone of muscles and helps women lose weight faster. Read this article below for a few reasons why.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0846/is_2_22/ai_91233478/

One thing I can confirm during my journey is that the weeks I loaded up on yummy proteins were the weeks I lost the most.

Thursday, March 4, 2010

What to do when all you want to do is take a nap!

I left the plant today and all I wanted to do was take a nap. I got back and started formulating my plan of working out for the night. My first thought was to take a nap and then go work out during one of my shows. My plan was to do the treadmill and walk while the show was on and then run during commercials. That would guarantee that my butt would be on the treadmill for 60 minutes. After a few minutes I had to be honest with myself and admit I would never go if I didn't go right then. So what did I do? I put on the clothes, laced up the shoes and headed down to the work out room. I watched an episode of 'What not to wear' and part of the next show that was on. I was done working out and it gave me a lot of satisfaction.

Sometimes all you need to do is be honest with yourself and know that working out will make you feel better. Even dinner tasted better (Veggie Delite on Wheat from Subway with some strawberry yogurt).

So the next time you need some motivation just think about how great you'll feel after it's over.

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

What motivates you?

An upcoming wedding? That beach trip that is just around the corner? A pair of jeans? A possible sighting of an ex that dumped you and you want to show them what they're missing? (C'mon, we all know that we've done that before, even guys!)

For me what is motivating is the competition and the fact that I know eventually I'll get to wear that awesome pair of jeans again. You know, that pair of jeans that just makes you look perfect. Your ass is perfect, your thighs are perfect, your legs look long and lean, and there's zero muffin top. It's a shame that we don't realize the road we're going down as we're gaining weight. The light red normally only goes off when we finally step on the scale and go WTF!!

So what does it take to get that motivation back? How will you inspire yourself to feel comfortable in your own skin? Maybe you don't need to lose a lot of weight but you'd like to tone up. Well grab some weights, start doing some cardio, and get your rear in gear! There's no time like the present.



Go from flab to hot!! ;)

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

You mean I have to do this again?!?

Well, as life would have it, you never get to do things how you plan them. After my competition ended I was able to keep off the weight for a few months. And then life hit me. I was stressed out to the max from work and personal life issues. After another 3 months I have found myself back where I started. Luckily I have a few people at work who decided to start up the Biggest Loser competition again! YAY! So, this blog is now going to turn into what I'm doing and how I'm doing it. This spring doesn't look to be "easy" as far as stress level goes so hopefully I can learn what I need to do in order to keep off the weight this time.

I started back up in the gym yesterday and let me say that it felt great! I did some interval training with the treadmill. I am glad to say that I am not completely out of shape, the way I was the last time I started all of this. My body just has more weight on it. I am doing some traveling this week for work and will use the gym downstairs. Part of my tips this time are going to include how to work out when you have very few options. The gym in the hotel has a few treadmills, an elliptical, a small weight machine, and some medicine balls. My plan is to use the treadmill and also do some ab work with the medicine balls. It's difficult to find a good workout plan when there are limited cardio and weight machines. However, that is why I keep a good interval running regime in my routine. No matter what, if a hotel has a gym, there will be a treadmill. It may be the worst treadmill you've ever run on, but, it's a treadmill.

I'm also going to post some stuff that I'm learning as far as diet goes, especially on the road. I brought some almonds with me for snacks and also brought some protein bars. The hotel has a free breakfast which I plan on hitting up the fruit for in the morning. I will most likely have the protein bars for breakfast along with the fruit. That should keep me satisfied until lunch time where I'll find a good salad option wherever I go. Dinner is what is killer on the road. After a long day all you want to do is go sit somewhere and eat a big plate. My plan is to have all my dinners either be vegetarian or of the fish variety. There are ways of "eating lean" on the road, it's just a little more expensive. Of course for me it's easier to not want a snack during the day because there really isn't an option to have one throughout the day if you're busy training. So lunches and breakfasts need to be solid choices.

My goal is to eat around 1400-1500 calories a day (maybe a little more depending on the workout I have planned) and if I don't get a chance to work out it will be around 1200-1300. So far so good.

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

First Post

I started this blog as a way to help out others and myself going through the journey of weight loss and maintenance. I recently lost over 20 lbs (YAY!) for a Biggest Loser competition at work. I am nowhere near done but I thought it would be nice to have a place that I could write down everything I've learned in the past 9 weeks. I had several people who helped me along the way and I don't think I could've done it without them. However, a lot of my knowledge also came from research on the internet and finding out common themes amongst weight loss sites. I found it all very interesting and became very engrossed in it.

I've always been a gym rat, from the time I was very young my parents grew me up with sports. Since graduating high school I've had a hard time finding how to take that gym rat experience and apply it to the "real world". After going back to the gym in the past 2 months I've reconnected with that love of working out and getting a good sweat. It makes me feel accomplished and I also feel like I'm taking care of myself for the future.

Look for more to come in the next few days as I log what I've done in both parts of my life (eating and working out).